In the second season of W Network's Majumder Manor the comedian and his wife plan a big time wedding reception in small town Newfoundland

ST. JOHN’S, NL – Walking around St. John’s International Airport with Shaun Majumder is the maritime equivalent of strolling around Laguardia with Jay Z.

Arriving from Toronto worn from presenting at the annual Terroir food conference, Majumder, accompanied by his wife, the actress Shelby Fenner, smiles and thanks one friendly well-wisher after another on his way to pick up the couple’s bags from the airport’s single carousel. After all, it’s not every day the a famous native son of The Rock returns to its capital. And with Republic of Doyle going the way of the Edmund Fitzgerald soon, Majumder Manor, the comedian’s crusade to turn his hometown of Burlington, NL into a tourist destination, is the province’s only nationally televised showcase of its land and people.

“Having grown up in this small community I know what a different place it is,” Majumder says the next day. “The truths of Burlington are universal. If you take the story of a small place that has gone through ups-and-downs and is in a new reframing of itself through this TV show, I think that has universal appeal.”

Located about seven hours drive from St. John’s, the small hamlet of 300 served as home to the Majumder family throughout the comedian’s formative years and, despite splitting the majority of his time in Los Angeles and Halifax (where he films This Hour Has 22 Minutes), when he’s back on his old turf, Majumder physically shifts into a more relaxed pose, his shoulders droop and his accent hardens.

It was during another of these trips home several years ago that Majumder came up with the idea for the project. “At the beginning it was a documentary film about me going back to my hometown and building an off-the-grid, environmentally friendly house for myself,” he says. “Then that evolved into building this place for the community, and the more I thought about it the more I started thinking this would be a great TV show.”

“You can’t take this format and syndicate it in another place. It’s not Big Brother.”

In the show’s first season, the 42-year-old set up the concept: buying land (starting with his old school house) in the remote port town and, alongside his then fiancé Fenner and straightman co-producer/architect Peter Blackie, beginning the long journey of turning Burlington into a tourist destination complete with multi-million dollar hotel and high-end restaurant.

For Season 2, which debuts tonight, team Majumder found a new way of inserting a sense of urgency to the project. “Even though Shelby and I got literally married in the off-season, we wanted to throw a celebration with our friends and family in Burlington,” he explains. “That is not an easy task because there’s still nowhere to stay and nowhere to eat. So this helps motivate the project. It’s a perfect marriage of project and personal.”

Majumder Manor

Still a ways off from raising the funds needed to complete the project, Majumder says the season finale will likely feature their guests “glamping” on the property. “We’re not making Disneyland Newfoundland.” he jokes. Instead, he claims the heart of the show is respecting the heritage and story of the people of Newfoundland.

“You can’t take this format and syndicate it in another place. It’s not Big Brother,” he says. “It just so happens that I’m a pseudo-celebrity in Canada but [the series] never been about that. I enjoy telling stories and as one of the writers, creators and producers on the show we all aspire to say this isn’t about one person. It’s called Majumder Manor but the struggles and challenges of the project is the compelling story.”